Reflection from Rev Bruce

I have a great deal of sympathy for Thomas. Almost certainly he, and the other disciples, are beginning to get a sense that something is happening. Something significant that will change things. Something that is unsettling them. Why else would Jesus begin this part of the conversation with “Do not let your hearts be troubled”? Already Jesus has spoken of someone betraying him, and of Peter denying him. Things are not turning out as they had expected. As Thomas is trying to get his head around this, Jesus begins to talk of preparing places for them in his Father’s house, of going and coming. Seemingly this is news for Thomas and he appears to no longer grasp where everything is headed, where Jesus is going. So he says to Jesus, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going. How can we know the way?” 

 
This question probably reflects how many of us in the Church, across the nation, and around the world, are feeling at this moment. This year is not turning out how most of us expected! We sense that we are in the midst of something significant, something that will change things, but are not sure what or how. There is much that remains unknown about Covid-19. We long to know more about what the next stages will look like, what the new normal will be, and what will be necessary to enable this to happen. We too want to know where we are headed, how we will get there, and when. But like Thomas, we find that we don’t know where we are going and we don’t know the way. 
 
In his reflection last week, Chris wrote “don’t assume we will go back to how things were, because I don’t think we will”. It’s important to recognise that this is implied by Thomas’ question. If he doesn’t know where Jesus is going, then he’s not expecting to return to something that is familiar. Whilst the destination may be unknown, and this fills him with uncertainty, he has at least grasped that whatever is happening is leading in a new direction. 
 
I suspect Jesus’ answer exasperated Thomas. Jesus gives none of the specific details that Thomas was looking for. There is no route map, no list of directions, no timescale. In some ways the whole exchange reminds me of times when we’ve set out to take the kids on a surprise trip somewhere, and they’re nagging us for details, unable to cope with the suspense. Philip’s question in verse 8 certainly suggests he didn’t think it was satisfactory answer!  
Maybe it’s the walker in me, but I find something hugely appealing in Jesus’ response to Thomas, that he is “the way”. It’s a phrase that for me is suggestive of movement. It conjures up images of paths (e.g. The Pennine Way), stretching from one place to another, enabling us to find a way through various terrain, even though we may not be able to see the final destination.  
It also reminds me that one of the earliest references we have to Jesus’ followers after Pentecost is as those who “belonged to the Way” (Acts 9:2). This, and the stories of the early Church in Acts, seems to me to encapsulate what Jesus is telling Thomas and the others in the passage from John. Jesus is inviting them to a way of living, a way of being, that is distinctive. It is a way that reveals God (truth), a way that is animated by the Spirit (life), a way that leads to the Father. It’s about living life as God desires, therefore it is the way.  
If we identify with Thomas’ sense that things are changing, and we’re not quite sure where we are headed, perhaps we too need to hear Jesus’ answer; to follow him, the way. To be encouraged that the life we are invited to in Jesus is not about remaining static, but one of movement, of journeying on, of heading to a different destination.  
As we contemplate what this might mean, both as individuals and as churches, I wonder if God has already been preparing us for this (even if, like Thomas and the rest of the disciples, we weren’t quite aware of this!)? In recent years there has been work on A Methodist Way of Life (attached) that has sought to remind us that what we are about is living our lives in a distinct way in response to God’s love, made known to us in Jesus. It is both old and new, drawing on the scriptures and the inspiration of the Spirit, and on the example of the early Church and the traditions inherited from Wesley (and others). Let me encourage you to reflect on A Methodist Way of Life that together we might discern the way in which God is leading us.  
Peace and all good, 
Bruce